138th Street–Grand Concourse station

138 Street–Grand Concourse  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound station platform
Station statistics
Address	East 138th Street & Grand Concourse Bronx, NY 10451
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Mott Haven
Coordinates	40°48′47″N 73°55′48″W / 40.81303°N 73.929963°W / 40.81303; -73.929963Coordinates: 40°48′47″N 73°55′48″W / 40.81303°N 73.929963°W / 40.81303; -73.929963
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Jerome Avenue Line
Services	4  (all except rush hours, peak direction) ​   5  (all except late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: Bx1, Bx33
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3
Other information
Opened	July 17, 1918; 103 years ago (1918-07-17)
Station code	391[2]
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	Mott Haven Avenue
Traffic
2019	1,035,878[4]  9.7%
Rank	356 out of 424[4]
Station succession
Next north	149th Street–Grand Concourse (Jerome): 4  149th Street–Grand Concourse (White Plains): 5
Next south	125th Street: 4  ​5
showLocation Show map of New York City SubwayShow map of New York CityShow map of New YorkShow all
showTrack layout Legend to 149 St–GC (Jerome) to 149 St–GC (White Plains) to 125 St
showStreet map Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction

138th Street–Grand Concourse, also signed as 138th St-Mott Haven or simply Mott Haven on station signage, is a local station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the T-intersection of East 138th Street and the Grand Concourse in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx. It is served by the 4 train at all times except during rush hours in the peak direction, and the 5 train at all times except late nights.

History[]

The station opened on July 17, 1918, as Mott Haven Avenue station, as a southbound extension of the Jerome Avenue Line into the Upper East Side extension of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line. As such, it is the newest station on the line. The segment north of Kingsbridge Road to Woodlawn opened three months earlier.^[5]

From November 18, 2019 to March 30, 2020, the northbound platform was temporarily closed for renovations.^[6] From April 27, 2020 to July 27, 2020, the southbound platform was temporarily closed for renovations.^[7]

Station layout[]

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
M	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Woodlawn (149th Street–Grand Concourse) ← toward Dyre Avenue or Nereid Avenue (149th Street–Grand Concourse)
	Peak-direction express	← PM rush does not stop here ← AM rush does not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward Utica Avenue (New Lots Avenue late nights) (125th Street) → → toward Flatbush Avenue weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (125th Street) →
	Side platform

The Mott Haven Avenue "MH" Mosaics

This station has two side platforms and three tracks, and is the only other station on the line to be built underground. The center express track is used by the 4 train during rush hours in the peak direction.

Both platform walls have their original mosaic trim line with "MH" tablets on it, a relic of Mott Haven Avenue, the former name of the station. At either ends of the platform, where they were extended in the 1950s, the walls have a blue trim with "138TH ST" in white lettering. Blue i-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black number plates in white lettering.

The station was built with tablets displaying "Mott Haven" and others displaying "138th Street - Mott Haven." The ones with "138th Street" were painted over with text reading "138th Street - Grand Concourse," but all were eventually covered with black plates reading "138 Street" in white Standard (Akzidenz-Grotesk) lettering.^[8] During the station's renovation in the late 2010s, most of the tablets were restored.

It is the southernmost station on the IRT Jerome Avenue Line. To the south, the line crosses the Harlem River into East Harlem, Manhattan and the three tracks merge into two and merge with the IRT Pelham Line to form the four-track IRT Lexington Avenue Line. To the north, the local tracks split into two. One set of tracks (the inner set) continues along Jerome Avenue, and the other set of tracks (the outer set) descends to a lower level and makes a sharp turn to merge with the IRT White Plains Road Line directly west of 149th Street–Grand Concourse. The 5 train uses these tracks during daytime hours.

Until 1972, the station had a connection to the 138th Street Station which served both the Harlem and Hudson Divisions of the New York Central Railroad.^[9][10]

Mosaics and signage at 138th Street-Mott Haven

In 2011, the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives took a poll of subway riders to vote for the smelliest subway station in the system, as part of its "rank the stank" contest. This station was ranked the smelliest of four nominated stations, receiving 35% of the votes.^[11]

Exits[]

This station has one mezzanine above the center of the platforms and tracks. Two staircases from each platform go up to a waiting area/crossover, where a turnstile bank provides access to and from the station. Outside fare control, there is a token booth and two staircases going up to the northern corners of East 138th Street and the Grand Concourse. The mezzanine has its original "Uptown Trains" and "Downtown Trains" mosaic tablets and trim line.^[12]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 138th Street – Grand Concourse (IRT Jerome Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IRT Woodlawn Line: 138th Street (Mott Haven)
• Station Reporter — 4 Train
• Station Reporter — 5 Train
• The Subway Nut — 138th Street–Grand Concourse Pictures Archived January 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• 138th Street and Grand Concourse entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View